The doors of automobiles and other motor vehicles are constantly exposed to denting, scratching, marring and other damage, especially in public parking facilities. This is due largely to the carelessness of people in opening the doors of their adjacent vehicles, and to the failure to adequately control the movement of shopping carts, carriages, and the like. Exposure to impact is virtually inevitable in parking lots in which the spaces are of inadequate width, and the problem is exacerbated by the prevalence of large, oversized personal-use vehicles. Regrettably, it is also not uncommon for a vehicle surface to be scratched intentionally, as a simple act of mischief or vandalism.
As far as is known, no means is presently available for readily, conveniently, and adequately protecting the surfaces of vehicle door panels (i.e., the normally painted areas below a window or window frame) from accidental or intentional damage of the kinds described.